What we know for 2009, Part 2

Here is part two of my Silly Season 2009 recap.


No. 10 Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge
2008 Driver(s): Patrick Carpentier
2008 Sponsor(s): LifeLock, Valvoline, Charter Communications
What we know for 2009: Patrick Carpentier's future in the No. 10 doesn't look to good with the recent signing of Reed Sorenson by GEM. Carpentier has publicly stated that he is a free agent, but that hasn't been confirmed by anyone at GEM. Sponsorship remains a question for this team as well.


No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2008 Driver(s): Denny Hamlin
2008 Sponsor(s): FedEx
What we know for 2009: I have heard of no changes for this team, nor do I expect any.






No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge
2008 Driver(s): Ryan Newman
2008 Sponsor(s): ALLTEL
What we know for 2009: This team is going to look nothing like the 2008 Daytona 500 winning team. Newman leaves for Stewart Haas Racing, ALLTEL is likely gone at season's end thanks to the Verizon merger as well. Rumors have David Stremme as the likely full time replacement, but nothing is confirmed yet.


No. 14 (was No. 70) Stewart Haas Racing Chevrolet
2008 Driver(s): Jeremy Mayfield, Johnny Sauter, Tony Raines
2008 Sponsor(s): Haas Automation, Hunt Brothers Pizza
What we know for 2009: Tony Stewart leaves Joe Gibbs Racing and buys into Haas CNC Racing, making it Stewart Haas Racing in 2009. He will take over the No. 70, changing the number to 14. Sponsorship will come from Office Depot and Old Spice.



No. 15 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet
2008 Driver(s): Paul Menard
2008 Sponsor(s): Menards, Johns Manville, many more
What we know for 2009: Lots of unconfirmed rumors floating around about this team. Paul Menard is expected to stay with this team in 2009 and keep his family sponsorship there as well. I see no reason not to expect that myself.



No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford
2008 Driver(s): Greg Biffle
2008 Sponsor(s): 3M, Dish Network
What we know for 2009: Greg Biffle signed a contract extension and will remain with Roush Fenway Racing for the extended future. 3M will remain as primary sponsor.




No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford
2008 Driver(s): Matt Kenseth
2008 Sponsor(s): DeWalt
What we know for 2009: I've heard of no changes for this team in 2009, much like the last, oh I don't know, 5 years.





No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2008 Driver(s): Kyle Busch
2008 Sponsor(s): M&M's, Interstate Batteries
What we know for 2009: No changes at all. Why would you change something that has worked so good in 2008 anyway?





No. 19 Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge
2008 Driver(s): Elliott Sadler
2008 Sponsor(s): Best Buy, Stanley Tools, McDonald's
What we know for 2009: Elliott Sadler signed a contract extension earlier in 2008 and will remain with this team for a few more years. Sponsorship lineup will likely stay the same.




No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2008 Driver(s): Tony Stewart
2008 Sponsor(s): Home Depot
What we know for 2009: Tony Stewart leaves at the end of 2008 to become an owner/driver at Stewart Haas Racing. Joey Logano will get the call and drive this car with sponsorship from Home Depot in 2009.

What we know for 2009, Part 1

Silly Season 2009 is well on its way so far this year. I figured it best to go ahead and do a post summing up the known changes that are coming when the Sprint Cup series takes the green flag for next year's Daytona 500. I'll be doing these 10 at a time, so here is part one:

No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
2008 Driver(s): David Reutimann, Michael McDowell, Mike Skinner
2008 Sponsor(s): Champion Mortgage, Aaron's
What we know for 2009: David Reutimann has been announced as returning to this ride for the 2009 season after leaving the team to replace Dale Jarrett in the No. 44 early in 2008. He brings with him an 18 race sponsorship deal with Aaron's. That still leaves 18 unsponsored races that this team needs to deal with. No word on the status of Michael McDowell, who is still under contract with this team.


No. 01 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet
2008 Driver(s): Regan Smith
2008 Sponsor(s): Principal Financial Group
What we know for 2009: Not much. This team only had partial sponsorship throughout most of the 2008 season and there is no firm word on the status of this team for the 2009 season. If sponsorship doesn't come up I can't imagine this team will remain active in 2009.



No. 07 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
2008 Driver(s): Clint Bowyer
2008 Sponsor(s): Jack Daniel's
What we know for 2009: With the creation of RCR's long awaited fourth team, Richard Childress decided to do some driver shuffling. He has moved Clint Bowyer from this team to the new No. 33 team and replaced him with free agent driver Casey Mears. Sponsorship remains the same for this team.


No. 1 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet
2008 Driver(s): Martin Truex Jr.
2008 Sponsor(s): Bass Pro Shops
What we know for 2009: There were lots of rumors about Truex Jr. leaving this team but they all ended up being wrong, as Truex Jr. signed a contract extension with the team and will remain with them for the immediate future. Bass Pro Shops should return as the sponsor.



No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge
2008 Driver(s): Kurt Busch
2008 Sponsor(s): Miller Lite
What we know for 2009: There are no changes expected for this team, despite the fact that 2008 has been by far one of the worst seasons this team has ever faced.




No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
2008 Driver(s): Casey Mears
2008 Sponsor(s): Kellogg's, Carquest
What we know for 2009: Casey Mears leaves this team at the end of 2008 and will move to Richard Childress Racing to drive the No. 07 Chevrolet. Mark Martin will come out of semi-retirement and drive this car full time for one last shot at a championship. He will then run this car part time in 2010.


No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford
2008 Driver(s): David Ragan
2008 Sponsor(s): AAA
What we know for 2009: AAA has decided they will be leaving this team at seasons end, meaning Ragan and Roush Fenway Racing need to find a sponsor if they want to keep this team around. Considering the way Ragan is driving I have no doubt that this team will find some form of sponsorship for next season.


No. 7 Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge
2008 Driver(s): Robby Gordon
2008 Sponsor(s): Jim Beam, Menards, Camping World
What we know for 2009: Besides the constant question of sponsorship, I haven't heard about any changes for Robby Gordon and company in 2009. Of course, this team would would love to secure a full time sponsor rather then multiple sponsors like they've had for the last two seasons.


No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet
2008 Driver(s): Mark Martin, Aric Almirola
2008 Sponsor(s): U.S. Army
What we know for 2009: Aric Almirola will drive this car full time in 2009 and Mark Martin will move over to Hendrick Motorsports full time to take one last shot at at championship. U.S. Army has been shopping its sponsorship dollars around so they may or may not return to this team.


No. 9 Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge
2008 Driver(s): Kasey Kahne
2008 Sponsor(s): Budweiser
What we know for 2009: No changes are expected or known for that matter. I don't see any reason to change anything. Despite a little bit of inconsistency this team has been strong in 2008, winning two races and fighting for a chase spot.

NASCAR gets Californicated

With two races left before the start of the Chase, NASCAR makes it second stop this season at the Auto Club Speedway in California. This, along with next week's race at Richmond, will make or break Chase chances for several teams. Here are my top picks to win this weekend:

Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing)
Last week: 2nd place finish in the Sharpie 500
Career at Auto Club Speedway: 10.2 Avg. Finish, 1 win, 3 top 5's, 6 top 10's
Why he could win: He has won everywhere else, why not? He does have a win here, his first career Sprint Cup win in fact.

Carl Edwards, No. 99 Aflac Ford (Roush Fenway Racing)
Last Week: Won the Sharpie 500
Career at Auto Club Speedway: 6.8 Avg. Finish, 1 win, 6 top 5's, 7 top 10's
Why he could win: He has won everywhere else, why not? Edwards won the spring race which automatically makes him a serious threat to win this weekend.

Matt Kenseth, No. 17 R+L Carriers Ford (Roush Fenway Racing)
Last Week: 9th place finish in the Sharpie 500
Career at Auto Club Speedway: 9.9 Avg. Finish, 2 wins, 5 top 5's, 9 top 10's
Why he could win: In the last six races at the Auto Club Speedway Matt Kenseth hasn't finished worse then 7th. If he doesn't win on Sunday i'd bet my bottom dollar he'll finish no worse then 7th.

My underdog this week is another Roush Fenway driver...

Jamie McMurray, No. 26 Crown Royal Ford (Roush Fenway Racing)
Last Week: 12th place finish in the Sharpie 500
Career at Auto Club Speedway: 13.7 Avg. Finish, 3 top 5's, 5 top 10's
Why he could win: If anyone could pull off a surprise win I suspect McMurray could be the man to do it. Historically he has always seemed to have a pretty good car here.

Bristol thoughts and observations

Carl Edwards put the bumper to Kyle Busch Saturday night at Bristol, the result being Edwards' 6th victory of the 2008 season. Busch crossed the line second followed by Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon.

Thoughts and observations

Uh oh ... looks like we have a little bit of a rivalry going on between NASCAR's two hottest drivers. Kyle Busch, who has had no problem moving people out of the way in the past, got moved out of the way by Carl Edwards, a move that ended up winning Edwards the race. Busch didn't exactly agree with the move and showed it by bumping Edwards after the checkered flag. Edwards' response? He simply spun Busch out. My how I love Bristol night racing.

Remember the last few Bristol races, they were boring and frankly not all that interesting right? Well the Bristol of old popped its ugly head out from under that pavement and bit several drivers, including Jeff Burton, Kasey Kahne, Michael Waltrip, Casey Mears and several more. Welcome back Bristol, I missed ya.

Ryan Newman had a strong car all weekend at Bristol, running up front and never really falling from the lead pack. I have to wonder if he'll earn another win for Penske before jumping ship at seasons end.

Several drivers, including the DEI trio of Aric Almirola, Regan Smith and Paul Menard, had strong race cars all night long and really impressed me. Almirola ran in the top 10 for a good chunk of the race before falling a little short. Smith qualified well and backed it up with a very respectable 14th place finish. Menard meanwhile qualified 16th and finished, shockingly enough, 16th. Good night for all three drivers.

The bad luck bug didn't just bite Chase contenders Kahne and Burton, it also bit Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. While it hurt Kahne and Burton much more then it did Johnson and Earnhardt Jr., you never like to see Championship contenders have bad luck like that.

Am I the only one that was mildly impressed with how well Bill Elliott hung out up front for the first 150-200 laps of the race? He raced in the top 10 for over 100 laps before finally slipping back to a 26th place finish. I was kinda hoping 'ole Bill might pull off a top 10, but alas, it was not to be.

David Ragan is so close to a berth in the Chase he can taste it. He is only 12 points behind 12th place Clint Bowyer with only two races left before the Chase. Meanwhile, Kasey Kahne fell out of the Chase all the way back to 14th, behind both Ragan and Bowyer.

Elsewhere in the points, Scott Riggs is barely holding on to the 35th and final guaranteed spot on the starting grid over AJ Allmendinger in 36th. This might be a more interesting race to watch then the one for the championship if Kyle Busch or Carl Edwards go on a tear during the Chase.

Back to Bristol

NASCAR returns to Bristol for its second race of the 2008 season and it brings with it a lot of drama leading up to the start of the Chase. Everyone knows who the drivers to beat are (Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards) but the question is who is going to make the chase and who is going to be sitting on the sidelines watching. If Saturday's race is anything like it usually is, this race will make or break some drivers chances of making the chase. Here are my drivers to watch this weekend:

Greg Biffle, No. 16 DISH Network Turbo HD Ford (Roush Fenway Racing)
Last Week: 4th place finish in the 3M Performance 400
Career at Bristol: 9.7 Avg. Finish, 4 top 5's, 7 top 10's
Why he could win: Greg Biffle is probably the best driver who has yet to win in 2008. In addition, he has the best average finish of all active drivers at Bristol. Combine that with the added push every driver wants before the Chase begins and you have a great choice to win at Bristol.

Kurt Busch, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge (Penske Racing)
Last Week: 36th place finish in the 3M Performance 400
Career at Bristol: 14.3 Avg. Finish, 5 wins, 5 top 5's, 9 top 10's
Why he could win: In recent years its been hard not to bet on Kurt Busch to win at Bristol. Despite having an awful 2008 season I still think Kurt Busch will have a car to watch on Saturday night.

Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing)
Last Week: 2nd place finish in the 3M Performance 400
Career at Bristol: 14.0 Avg. Finish, 1 win, 2 top 5's, 4 top 10's
Why he could win: Kyle Busch, besides being the best driver in the world right now, also won the first COT race at Bristol. Why wouldn't you think he'd be a threat to win Saturday?

My underdog this week is a man who got his first career victory at Bristol.

Elliott Sadler, No. 19 Stanley Tools Dodge (Gillett Evernham Motorsports)
Last Week: 9th place finish in the 3M Performance 400
Career at Bristol: 22.4 Avg. Finish, 1 win, 3 top 5's, 4 top 10's
Why he could win: Sadler has shown remarkable consistancy in the last several weeks and a trip to Bristol might be a perfect chance for Sadler to break his winless streak. I'd keep a very sharp eye on Sadler Saturday night.

Back from vacation

Its been awhile since i've been able to make a detailed post here on my blog. The last several weeks have been pretty hectic for me and last week I took some time off, so much time in fact that I totally missed this weekend's Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series races. I'm hoping on getting back on track this Thursday by posting my picks for the weekend at Bristol. Everything should pick back up as usual on my blog by then.

Speaking of vacation, I took a trip to Charlotte this weekend for the NWA Legends FanFest. For those that don't know what that is, it is an annual gathering at the Hilton Hotel in Charlotte for pro wrestling fans. Legends from the sports past, present and future make appearances during the three day, four night event. My goal was to get a shirt with the logo from my website on it totally filled with autographs. I got to meet a lot of legends, including Bruno Sammartino, Ted DiBiase, J.J. Dillion, Magnum TA, Ken Patera and more. I heard lots of stories, had lots of fun and bought a bunch of DVD's (at amazing prices). Big thanks to Mr. Graham Cawthon for encouraging me to attend, if I can I'm going to make that an annual event.

Also, i'm still searching for sources for my history of racing in Cleveland County project. I've spoken to a few people in the County and I even spoke with former Daytona 500 winner Cotton Owens in Spartanburg, S.C. about the project so far. If anyone has any suggestions on who I should contact, again, please don't hesitate to let me know by dropping me an email (adamfenwick@shelbystar.com) or calling me at work (704-869-1728). The more information the better, I can never have enough.

Looking for help finding racing's past

Some who read this blog know that recently I wrote a story about NASCAR racing that was held at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds in the 50's and 60's. Well that article and the interest it spawned has given me the inspiration to do further research into the history of racing in Cleveland County and the drivers from the County and surrounding areas.

But in order for me to do that I need your help.

I can make all the phone calls and find all the old photos and stories that I want, but what I need is to speak to people who know about the history of racing in Cleveland County and the surrounding area. For example...

I know Stick Elliott, a former NASCAR driver and regional star, was from Shelby. I'm looking for anyone that might know something about Mr. Elliott and his history in NASCAR or just his racing career in general.

I know Doug Cooper, a former NASCAR Grand National Rookie of the Year in 1964, was from Gastonia. I can find little to no information on Mr. Cooper, save the picture above where he appears in car No. 60 at Daytona International Speedway. Any information on him would be very helpful.

I'm looking to speak with any old drivers from the 50's or 60's. I've spoken to two or three, some receptive of the idea of talking about their racing career's, some not so much. The more drivers I can speak to from that era the more stories i'll be able to pass on to the next generation.

I'm not trying to break any new ground here. I'm sure there are those out there who have done something like this before. What i'm trying to do is find out about the history of racing in Cleveland County and at the same time put pen to paper and let the people of Cleveland County read about exactly what i'm hearing and seeing.

If you know anyone, have any old newspaper clippings, or are interested in speaking to me about this project yourself, please feel free to contact me by email at adamfenwick@shelbystar.com.

Racing at the Glen

The first NASCAR race I ever attended was held at Watkins Glen. Rusty Wallace won the race with a splash of gas late in the running. Do I remember it? No. But my dad made sure i'd see the race when I got older, he taped the entire thing and I use to spend my afternoon's watching it. Boy was that fun.

Anyway, Watkins Glen has always been a great place for road course races. Lots of great names have won at Watkins Glen and races here tend to be not only fun but oftentimes heated. Just ask Juan Pablo Montoya and Kevin Harvick.

Anyway, here are my picks to win this weekend.

Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing)
Last Week: 36th place finish in the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500
Career at Watkins Glen: 16.3 Avg. Finish, 0 top 5's, 2 top 10's
Why he could win: Busch proved at Infineon earlier this year that he was a threat to win anywhere on the circuit. Because of this I have every expectation (especially now that qualifying has rained out and he is on the pole) that he will run up front and be a threat to win.

Tony Stewart, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing)
Last Week: 2nd place finish in the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500
Career at Watkins Glen: 6.1 Avg. Finish, 4 wins, 5 top 5's, 7 top 10's
Why he could win: It's Watkins Glen, why shouldn't Tony Stewart be a serious threat to win? Just look at that average finish! If he isn't running up front by the end of the race something is seriously wrong.

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports)
Last Week: 10th place finish in the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500
Career at Watkins Glen: 12.4 Avg. Finish, 4 wins, 6 top 5's, 8 top 10's
Why he could win: Please see Tony Stewart's why he could win, all the information there pretty much applies to Jeff Gordon as well.

My pick for the under dog driver isn't really an under dog, but in the grand scheme of things I really think he is.

Robby Gordon, No. 7 Jim Beam Dodge (Robby Gordon Motorsports)
Last Week: 37th place finish in the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500
Career at Watkins Glen: 8.8 Avg. Finish, 1 win, 7 top 5's, 7 top 10's
Why he could win: If any independent driver can win at Watkins Glen Robby Gordon is the man to do it. He always brings quality equipment to the road courses and should always be considered a threat to win. Anyone that overlooks him will be in for a rude awakening Sunday.

Pocono thoughts and observations

Carl Edwards used great fuel strategy Sunday afternoon to win the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500, his fourth victory of the 2008 season and second career win at Pocono Raceway. He was followed to the line by Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and David Ragan.

Thoughts and observations

It was actually kinda funny to watch Edwards disagree with his crew chief Bob Osborne after the race was halted after 131 laps due to rain. Edwards wasn't happy with Osborne's decision to pit, a decision that left Edwards far far behind on the grid. Lucky for Edwards however, the race got started and that pit strategy ended up working in his favor.

Kevin Harvick recovered beautifully after an early spin to finish fourth. Its recoveries like that that prove Harvick is a legitimate threat once chase time comes along.

Another week, another great run for one David Ragan. Sooner or later people are gonna realize that this kid might have actually figured out how to drive in the Sprint Cup Series.

Mark Martin looked like he had the car to beat early in the race Sunday before fading. Yet, thanks to fuel mileage, he found himself back up front looking to earn a win. I really feel like Martin is going to win a race this year in the Sprint Cup Series, he still has it no matter what anyone else thinks.

Kahne almost stole the race Sunday with his slick move to stay out right before the rains came. Another 20 or 30 minutes of heavy, hard rain and Kahne would likely have won both Pocono races this season. Alas, it just wasn't to be.

Luck is suddenly NOT on Matt Kenseth's side. After last week's horror filled run at Indy where he blew a tire, this week he saw a solid top 10 disappear thanks to fuel mileage. Yet he still rallied back and finished 11th. Regardless though, Kenseth has gone from 8th in the standings two weeks ago to 13th, one spot out of the Chase. And the bad news? Watkins Glen is next week.

Bummer for Scott Riggs, it looked like he had a guaranteed top 10 run going until he ran out of gas. Considering he came all the way back from 43rd on the starting grid after an engine change he still had an outstanding run despite the final finishing position.

Speaking of good runs going bad, Kyle Busch looked on his way to a top 5 finish before he ran out of fuel. To make matters worse he couldn't get the engine restarted late and ended up finishing way back in 36th place. Ouch.

Another week and AJ Allmendinger gets a little closer to getting himself a guaranteed spot in each race. Scott Riggs holds onto the 35th position in points, but not by much. Michael McDowell is only four points behind Riggs with Allmendinger (only 38 points behind Riggs) nipping at their heels.

NASCAR in the rain?

Mother nature must have a sense of humor.

After last week's tire fiasco at Indianapolis NASCAR's Nationwide Series made history at the historic Circuit Gilles Villeneuve by racing for the first time under wet conditions with specially designed rain tires.

It was certainly an interesting attempt by NASCAR to bring something different into the sport and I give them credit for making every effort to run the race despite the awful conditions. But eventually the rain just became way too much. Jacques Villeneuve and Joey Logano both ended up crashing under caution while running up front. That, along with the heavy down poor and standing water on the track, convinced NASCAR to call the race early, handing the win to road-racer (and Canada native) Ron Fellows.

It was another disappointing day for one Marcos Ambrose, who looked like he had the car to beat until a miscommunication on pit road dropped Ambrose back to third. I really feel like Ambrose is bound to win one of these races sooner or later, its just a question of when.

I think the deer missed me

I recently moved to Shelby after a year of driving back and forth from Polk County and its nice to not have to drive as far every night to work.

On Tuesday I went back home to Polk County to see my parents, pick up my mail and generally be as lazy as possible (though it didn't work out that way). As I was leaving late Wednesday afternoon to come back to Shelby this fella was just hanging out by a series of trailers less then an 1/8 of a mile from my families home.

Apparently the deer missed seeing me every night and hearing me slam on the brakes to avoid hitting them. Well sorry fella, I didn't miss seeing you.